Tainted Reflection
by Lovely-Madness-13
Summary: Part Two in the XANA's Daughter Series. After the first meeting with the thing that calls it's self XANA's Daughter, Aelita finds herself lost in a maze of strange emotions and images she barely understands. But when the safety of the others, Jeremie especially, is called into question, she realizes things are going to have to change. And change quickly.
1. Chapter 1

A Code Lyoko fanfic  
J/A with general and angst  
And my OC villian...  
Sequal to Dual Image, part of the "XANA's Daughter" series.  
Please to enjoy ^^

There were voices in her head. Aelita sighed and rolled over, trying to keep her eyes closed. They'd go away. They always faded off eventually. Even when she was Lyoko. They always came and went, like the wind.  
Something thudded on the door to her room. Gasping, she sat up.  
"C-come in...?"  
The thud came again, and, frowning, Aelita got out of bed. Just as she reached for the knob to her door, the door burst open.  
Two figures, wrapped tightly around each other, stumbled into the room, whispering and sighing.  
Aelita stared, unable to move. Numbly she recognized the blond hair, the glasses. The voice murmuring softly, words of love and desire that sent a strange thrill down her spine, despite the fear that surged with it.  
"Jeremie..."  
For a moment, the two pulled back, gasping.  
"Mine..." whispered the shadowy figure still wrapped around Jeremie. "Just mine." The possessiveness of the statement sent a shot of sorrow and horror straight to her heart, yet Aelita still could do little but stare.  
"He could have been yours," came the voice, but now it was behind her, in her ear. "But now, little sister, he's mine."  
"No-" her denial came through clenched teeth, and the voice in her ear chuckled.  
"Jealous, much? Stupid little fool, if you took him for yours like he wants you to, that's the only way." The voice disappeared from behind her, and was coming from the figure with Jeremie. The two of them stumbled into the light come from her window.  
The figure turned, and Aelita found herself looking into her own eyes.  
"He's mine now."  
"No!"  
Her eyes flew open, and Aelita sat bolt upright in bed, her heart pounding.  
"Oy!" Someone was pounding her door. "Shut it in there, Stones, you're waking me up!"  
Aelita felt her face flush, and lay back down. Still trembling, she knew it be no use to close her eyes. Sleep wasn't come back. Only the images of her nightmare would be there, playing on loop in her head.  
"Jeremie..."  
Hating herself and her weakness, Aelita covered her face with the blanket, her eyes wide open against the darkness.

"Aelita...?"  
"Yeah?"  
"You don't look so good."  
"Gee, thanks, Odd. Really?"  
Odd, diagonally across from her in history class, winced at the look she shot him. If looks could kill..."You know what I mean, Princess." He hesitated, seeing that he was getting no where pleasant in this conversion, he wadded up a piece of notebook paper and flung it across the room. THe missile hit Jeremie in the back of the head. The blond boy jumped in surprise, and turned to see who had hit him. Instead of looking back at Odd, however, his gaze met Aelita's.  
His heart flipped automatically, as it always did when he looked at her. But then, seeing the expression on her face, and the circles under her eyes, his heart sank. She'd been like that for more than a week.  
Ever since that...that thing had appeared.  
Her eyes, dull and tired, slid away from his, and Jeremie's heart sank farther. If only there was away to-  
A shrill beeping suddenly broke through his thoughts. Spinning about, panic in his throat, he pulled out his laptop from the back under his seat.  
Across the room, Aelita was nervously watching him, dread already filling her heart. The nightmare from last night, so like others she had had in the past week, surged in the back of her mind. XANA. Lyoko. A shudder went down her spine, but she ignored it. She was stronger than that, she told herself firmly. She couldn't show a frightened face to her enemy. Or her friends.  
Behind her, Odd was already getting to his feet, his eyes bright with the excitement. Aelita felt no excitement, yet she too, forced herself to her feet. Class was almost over, no one would notice them if they snuck out. Aelita looked back at Jeremie, who had already pulled out his cell phone, probably to call Ulrich and Yumi to warn them.  
A moment later, the bell rang, and the three of them hurried out of the room.

"As far as I can tell, nothing has happened on our side," Jeremie muttered as he typed into the supercomputer a few minutes later. Aelita, Odd and Ulrich and Yumi stood a room below him, waiting to be sent to Lyoko. His voice echoed through the loud speakers. If the others noticed slight tremor in his voice, no one said anything. "The activated tower is in the Ice Sector."  
Yumi, Odd and Ulrich looked nervously at Aelita. "Princess, if you-" Ulrich started, but Aelita shook her head.  
"I'll be fine, Ulrich." Even to her own ears, her voice sounded strange, faint and far away.  
"Aelita?"  
"I have to go in, Jeremie," she replied to the soft inquiry that echoed through the factory. "It'll be alright."  
"But your powers-"  
"They worked when-" when I was captured, Aelita thought, but didn't say it out loud. "I mean, last time I was in Lyoko, Jeremie. They should work now." In theory, anyway, muttered a voice in her head, but Aelita ignored it.  
"Send us in Einstein!" Odd called, obviously getting antsy. "Lets go!"  
Jeremie didn't reply, except to begin the count down to virtualization. Yumi, Ulrich and Odd stepped into the scanners first. Aelita, trying to ignore the dread forcing her heart into her throat, waiting, counting the seconds.  
"Where I"m sending you, it doesn't look like there's company," Jeremie said as Aelita stepped into the scanner. "And...Aelita?" When she didn't answer, Jeremie sighed slightly. "Please...just be careful, okay?"  
"Don't worry,' she replied, and closed her eyes as she sped into a different world.


	2. Chapter 2

"Um, Einstein? I don't think your scanner's working. Did you say we would be safe here when we came in?"  
A note of apprehension turned Jeremie's voice up a pitch. "Yes-why?"  
On Lyoko, Odd, Ulrich and Yumi traded nervous glances. "Because we're surrounded."  
"Watch it!" Behind them, Aelita landed, fully virtualized, and ducked a laser from one of the blocks inching toward them.  
"There's...how many?" Jeremie called, confusion and alarm evident in his voice. "They're starting to register, but it's taking..."  
"Too many to count!" Ulrich shouted, racing forward to engage the monsters in battle.  
"Jeremie?" Out of habit, Aelita looked nervously up at the sky. "Can you tell what's wrong?"  
"I...I'm not sure, Aelita, I-"  
"Princess, look out!"  
Aelita spun, and jumped out of the way as one of the blocks spun her way. Glaring the thing, she backed up, lifting her hands. "Shoot me in the back, huh? Energy Field!"  
Nothing happened.  
The block stared at her, spinning slowly as if confused. Aelita blinked in shock, and stared at her hands. "Not again," she murmured, fear starting to flicker in her heart. "This...I thought this stopped, it- Ow!" Distracted as she was, Aelita forgot about the block that was still in front of her- until it shot her in the stomach, knocking her over. Two seconds later, the thing exploded, a glowing fan now embedded in it's middle.  
"Aelita." Looking up, Aelita met Yumi's worried digital gaze. The neo-geisha offered the pink-haired elf a hand, and Aelita stood slowly.  
"Thanks, Yumi," she said softly, but the look on her friend's face didn't go away.  
"Your energy field didn't work."  
Trust Yumi to state the truth so bluntly. Aelita shook her head, dread a ugly chill down her spine. "It...it was acting weird for a while, but when it worked last time I thought..."  
"Can you fly?"  
Aelita nodded. "I think, but..." she looked over at the few monsters left. She was useless to her friends if she couldn't fight.  
Stupid, useless little fool. Little sister.  
Gasping, Aelita jerked back. That voice.  
"Uh, ladies, sorry to break up the chat-" Ulrich called sarcastically, deflecting a laser as more blocks closed in. "But we could use some help here!"  
Yumi looked at Aelita, her eyebrows raised. "Do you think you can still-"  
"Don't worry about me," Aelita said quickly, shaking her head. "It's nothing, I'll be fine."  
"Aelita?" Jeremie's voice echoed over the speaker. "Are you okay?"  
Aelita opened her mouth to say, yes of course- but then shut it again. He probably would have seen what happened, what was the point of lying about it. Instead, she just shrugged. "I-"  
"Uh, guys?"  
Odd's voice sounded panicked. Aelita turned back to where the battle raged- and stared.  
The blocks were backing up. No longer firing, the things spun and whirled nervously.  
"What, what's wrong?" Jeremie called. "The display on the super computer says they're all gone."  
"Not gone, but...forfeiting?" Ulrich took a step back, not putting his sabers back.  
"Or making way for something bigger," Yumi said, her voice ominous. Aelita shuddering, remember the last time XANA sent something "bigger"- the Kolosis.  
Bigger. Better. And your doom, stupid humans.  
Aelita jumped, and glanced around. The others stared at her, and she looked back at them, vivid eyes wide. "Don't you hear it?"  
"Hear what, Princess, a- OY!"  
Black smoke suddenly appeared out of now where, wrapping around Odd. The cat boy yelped, trying to fire into it, only to hit himself.  
"Odd!" Ulrich hurried forward, his swords out, only to be knocked back as more black smoke arched out like a huge arm, smacking him in the face.  
"What the-" On Earth, Jeremie sounded terrified. "What's happening? Odd, what are you doing, you're depleting your life points faster than-"  
"Jeremie, something's got him!" Aelita cried. "It-"  
Quite suddenly, the black smoke unwrapped itself from Odd, and he fell to the ground with a thud, coughing violently. The other three rushed to him, but he stood quickly, shaking his head.  
"Don't know what that was but-"  
Didn't like my caress, sweet heart? Too bad. All of you will feel it eventually.  
This time, all four them jumped as the low, purring, oily voice whispered through the air.  
"What was that?"  
A soft laugh echoed, and a shudder went down Aelita's spine. She knew that laugh. It shivered in all of her nightmares, through digital air only a week ago in to her ears, had taunted them in the factory.  
Ulrich was the first to recover, glaring around at empty air.  
"Show yourself- if you're not afraid!"  
Another chuckle murmured, sour and silky in the air. "With pleasure, if you wish to seem me so badly, handsome."  
"Ulrich, that might have not been the best of ideas, good buddy," Odd hissed, his eyes wide as he and the other three stared as the air in front of them began to shiver. Then, suddenly, Aelita let out a shriek, and collapsed, her hands over her ears.  
"Aelita!"  
"Princess!"  
There were voices, millions of voices, all screaming. The pain of it lashed through her brain, down her spine, like a whip. Aelita gasped for air, barely hearing the voices of her friends calling out to her. Above all of the sound was the laughter, that horrible laughter that rang out.  
"Why, little sister, not happy to see me?"  
Aelita forced her eyes to open, hating, loathing, dreading the voice now ripping into her ears.  
And stared into mad, white eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

It was like some horrid, terrible joke, a twisted, tainted parody.  
Short hair, streaked with black and blood red, oozed past pointed ears torn like a feral cat's. The eyes, pupils wide and circled like the eye of XANA itself, were narrowed and blood shot. It smirked, black lips quirking over a nose just like Aelita's, in a face shaped exactly the same way.  
"What the...the hell?" one of the boys cursed softly, but no one moved. The creature's smirk widened and moved forward. It's clothing- little of it that there was, further carried the terrible likeness to Aelita's own appearance. Black gloves, wrapped and fingerless, covered arms thin and bony. Yet the figure of the thing was richly, obscenely curved, the thin black halter neck of the outfit barely covering the over-pouring of skin. A XANA symbol emblazoned in red cursed over it's chest and stomach, the latter totally bared except for a small strip of black and red cloth down the center that connect to a black skirt, also trimmed in red. Thigh-high leggings ended, teasingly just under the skirt, which showed more leg than it hid.  
Even in digital form, Aelita felt her stomach heave in disgust and fear. The monster with her face smiled, and held up a hand. Black smoke hissed around her fingertips.  
"Finally we meet, face to face, little sister." Those horrid eyes skimmed over the others, and her smile widened. "And your fellows."  
"XANA, this is just pathetic," Yumi spat suddenly, shaking off the stupor that hit her and the boys when the thing had first appeared. "Sinking to a new-"  
The thing threw back it's head and laughed.  
"XANA? Stupid girl, how many times do I have to tell you, I am NOT my father."  
"Your father-"  
Smiling still, like a wild animal to prey, the thing moved closer. "Yes, XANA. The program who has bested you little fools for many a year." Suddenly unable to move, Yumi winced as the thing reached out to trace long black fingernail over her cheek. "He has made me, but we are not one and the same."  
"Don't touch her!" Ulrich, also immobile, bellowed, his face etched in rage. The monster turned slowly, looking at Ulrich.  
"Why? Wish it was you instead, handsome? Or..." the twisted smile turned into a leer. "Or is it you who wish it was who was touching her?" When Ulrich's eyes went wide, the thing laughed softly. "You humans, dancing and fighting the very things that are natural to you. Animals that you are."  
"Animals, huh?" Odd's purple eyes narrowed, but he smiled slightly at the creature. "And you would know that, how? Being nothing but a cheap replica yourself?"  
The next second, the monster had left Yumi's side and was in front of Odd, her face inches from his. "Cheap, am I?" She smiled again, and touched a finger tip to the side of his neck. Odd winced, but, like the others, could no longer move. Suddenly, the thing's eyes flashed red, and she slapped Odd hard across the face. The boy shouted in pain and fell to his knees, sparks dancing over his face.  
"Odd!" Released from the thing's gaze- and it's binding- Yumi and Ulrich raced to their friend.  
The monster was laughing now, shaking it's head. "I like you, Animal Boy. However, I'm interested in another blond human. Who..." those horrid eyes darted around, going from the three crouched together to where Aelita had been.  
Had been? The white, circled eyes narrowed. Stupid little thing, where-  
"You won't live long enough to be interested in him," Aelita hissed, and flicking open her wings, flew straight at the monster.  
It spun, and Aelita rammed face first into it just as the thing lifted it's hands. A shriek ripped from the collision, although none of the other Lyoko warriors could tell who actually screamed.  
"AELITA?"  
Suddenly, Jeremie's voice blasted into Lyoko.  
"Finally, Einstein!" Ulrich bellowed, about to run to help Aelita. "We could use some help! Where were you-"  
"Something's blocking me out, I- what's that, what's got Aelita?"  
"It's Magenta!" Odd called, recovering enough to stand and glare at the sky. "She snuck up on us!"  
Just then, another scream echoed from where the monster and Aelita where entangled. Black lightning hissed around the two, but Aelita seemed to be dodging it narrowly. The monster was laughing the whole time.  
"You think - that you- can fight me? You can't summon anything, little fool, your powers are gone!"  
Aelita pulled away from the thing's blasts, and flew, spinning in a tight spiral, high into the dark blue Polar sky. Her wings beat the air, but her heart beat even harder, her eyes bright with pain, fear and fury. She stared at her hands. Nothing. She felt nothing, no matter how she moved, how she tried to focus. Her energy field was gone.  
"Aelita! Aelita, are you okay, what-"  
The monster froze, slowly turning those evil eyes to the sky. "Well, hello there, Jeremie darling. Care to-" the tainting call broke off in a gasp, and the monster staggered back, white eyes wide. A fan, glowing brightly, was embedded in it's stomach. Two laser arrows blasted themselves into it's chest as a saber grazed her thigh. The thing paused, looking down at the weapons slowly digging their way deeper into it's skin. Then, chuckling softly, the creature reached down, touched a finger to each of the weapons.  
And watched them each devirtualized.  
"No-!"  
The monster smiled slowly, cocking it's head to one side. "Nice try. Pathetic. But interesting." She raised a hand. "My turn now."  
"Not this time."  
Just as the soft statement echoed around Lyoko, the monster started towards the four figures now standing unarmed on the ice, it's long fingers surrounded by oozing black smoke. Suddenly, a soft crackle of energy hissed, and in unison, all four figures vanished.  
Magenta stopped in it's tracks, it's eyes widening.  
"Running away?" It's voice was no longer like Aelita's, but dangerous. "Unexpected." Then the thing smiled again. "But I'll see you again, darlings. Soon enough." Blowing a black lipped kiss to the sky, Magenta disappeared, leaving the digital hissing and black behind.


	4. Chapter 4

Four teenagers staggered out of the scanners, hollow-eyed and gasping.  
"There was no activated tower," Yumi muttered, helping Odd up as she forced herself to stand. "XANA wanted us there. But...then...how..."  
"He deactivated it himself." Aelita looked up slowly over the heads of her friends, and into Jeremie's wide, terrified blue eyes. For a single moment, her heart flipped at the sight of him, safe and sound. Concern, but unhurt.  
Then guilt overcame her, and she forced her eyes away from his. "It was all a ploy."  
"So Magenta can only come out when the tower's activated?" Ulrich asked, leaning against Yumi's shoulder. Jeremie nodded.  
"I think so. But..." He turned back to Aelita, who was trying to walk to the elevator by herself, not looking her friends in the face. "Aelita?" He hurried to her, catching her just as she stumbled forward, her chest still heaving with emotional overload and exhaustion. Aelita flinched at his gentle touch and tried to move back.  
"Please...let me go."  
His heart squeezed painfully at the agony in her soft voice, but he hesitated, then let her go when he was sure she could stand on her own. "Aelita, this isn't your fault, you-"  
"My power's are gone," she whispered, shaking her head. Her fists clenched at her sides. I will NOT cry, she told herself, hating the sting of tears threatening to overflow. "I'm useless to you now."  
"Useless? Aelita, no-" Jeremie started, but Aelita moved forward into the elevator, her face pale and drawn.  
Jeremie stared after her, then looked back at the others. Now standing, Odd raised an eyebrow at the young genius. "Well, Einstein? Don't stare at us, go get her." Ulrich rolled his eyes, but Yumi smiled tiredly and nodded.  
"He's right. Go."

His heart in his throat now, Jeremie spun and hurried to the ladder as he heard the elevator start it's climb to the first level. As he climbed, deja vu hit him, images flashing through his head of what had occurred just a week ago. How strange had it been, climbing this ladder, find an Aelita who wasn't Aelita at all...A shudder went down his spine, and he hurried. He had seen the hurt and shock on Aelita's face then, and longed to do something. Anything.  
"She talks about being useless," he muttered as he finally reached the landing. "I'm the useless one. I can't even protect her, when she's the one who's so amazing-"  
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he froze. "Amazing."  
Her powers were gone, she had said. Hadn't been the program he had started on a whim a week ago been to help strength them? What if she didn't need a program at all?  
His heart suddenly pounding even harder than before, Jeremie leaped over the league and hurried out into the first floor.  
"Aelita!"  
Silence. Jeremie's heart sank. Had he missed her?  
Then, softly, a sound echoed to him. He paused, listening. The sound...His heart wrenching, Jeremie turned around and hurried to the elevator.  
"Aelita?"  
The sobs, quiet and broken, echoed beyond the door. Almost panicking with the desire to help her, he knocked sharply on the door. "Aelita, please, open up."  
For a moment, the sobs stopped. After a moment, his ears straining to hear any sound, he heard footsteps, and a soft beeping. The door slid open, and reveled Aelita, her face set despite the slight red around her eyes. A single tear trickled down her cheek.  
"Aelita..." Unable to stop himself, Jeremie reached out and touched the tear, whipping it away. Slowly, Aelita raised her gaze to meet his, and for a moment, the two simple stared at each other.  
"Jeremie, there's nothing you can do now," she said softly, shaking her head. "It's not your fault-"  
"It's not yours either, Aelita," he replied softly, and, despite his racing heart, gently rested his hands on her arms. "Please, Aelita, stop blaming yourself. This is XANA's doing, and I know how to stop it."  
"No, Jeremie, you-" Aelita froze, and stared up at him. "You know what?"  
Jeremie smiled slowly, and despite everything, Aelita's heart flipped over. That manic gleam in his was back, she noted, and, without realizing it, took a step closer to him. "Aelita, do you remember the program we came up with, it was supposed to-"  
"It didn't work, Jeremie," Aelita interjected, shaking her head. "It had no effect on my powers." Or lack there off, she thought sadly, until-  
"That's because your powers were never given to you by a program made by me. You had your singing power when you first were sent to Lyoko, right?"  
Confused, Aelita nodded slowly. "Yes, but-"  
"And you developed the energy field yourself." Jeremie continued, his eyes glinting behind his glasses. He was smiling now, watching as the realization began to dawn on her beautiful face. "The only reason your wings work is because-"  
"You developed them," Aelita finished, her emerald eyes wide. "Jeremie, do you think-"  
"I think that the program may have done the opposite of what was supposed to do. It muted your real powers, and then when XANA used your DNA to create Magenta, that must have depleted them farther."  
Aelita's eyes narrowed. "Thats' why the Creeper that attacked me in Lyoko faded off instead of dying. It...is it possible it absorbed my power?"  
Jeremie nodded. "Yes. Wouldn't be the first time he's stolen idea's from you, Aelita. Although perhaps this time his idea is even sicker than usual."  
"Be that as it may, if I could get back into Lyoko..." Lyoko. Magenta. No. I couldn't face her again, not without my powers, it'd be...  
"Aelita, Magenta only awakens when a tower's activated." He smirked, taking her hands in his. "Until then, you'd be safe. Safe to train your powers again. Although perhaps one of the others should go in there, just to be safe. If-"  
"I can't ask them to do that, Jeremie." Her eyes suddenly sad again, Aelita took a step back. "Did you see what happened to Odd and Yumi? How she just froze us all in place? It's too-"  
"Dangerous." Jeremie bit his lip, then shook his head. "Aelita, you know they would. If I could, I'd go into Lyoko with you, but I'd be useless," he added ruefully, wincing. Aelita shook her head wildly.  
"Jeremie, you're not putting yourself anywhere near that place. Magenta wants you, more than the others. She'd-"  
"I don't care. The others wouldn't care. You'd do the same thing if it where one of us."  
"Yes, but-"  
Jeremie held up a finger, and Aelita sighed, shrugging sadly. Jeremie, seeing this, put a hand on her chin. A part of him trembled at being so close to her, to touch her, but he ignored it. That wasn't as important now as helping her. "Aelita, please, look at me."  
It took a moment, but finally, she raised her eyes to his. "Don't make a decision now. You're exhausted, the others are exhausted. Tomorrow, we'll talk to them about it-"  
"But-" Aelita stopped, realizing that he was right. The others would do it, and it was doubtful that XANA would be ready to attack again in the next 24 hours, so...maybe...  
"Tomorrow?" Jeremie suggested, smiling again. For moment. despite the nightmares, both sleeping and real, Aelita felt warmth spread in her veins. She hesitated, then nodded, smiling back.  
"Tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey...Einstein, you got the notes for next period's math test?"  
"Don't tell me you didn't study again, Odd," Ulrich accused, smirking and elbowing his roommate.  
Odd shrugged his shoulders, flipping through his gaming magazine. "I was busy."  
Without looking up from his laptop, Jeremie smiled wryly. "Would that said being busy start in video games and end with video games, by chance?"  
Ulrich sniggered into his soda can as Odd winced slightly.  
"Well,...um, yeah I wanted to level up. Come on, Jeremie, I'm sure you've played some kinda video game before, do you have any idea how hard it is to-"  
"Think?"  
Odd ignored his roommate. "To win these games? The girls only like you if you get the good prizes!"  
"When did video gaming become a way to get girls?" came a high, grating voice from behind Ulrich. All three boys bit back a groan of dread, but none looked up at the girl who spoke. Sissy huffed and laid a hand gently on Ulrich's shoulder.  
"Ulrich, honey, I hope you know you don't have to do anything stupid to get my attention," she cooed, not dismayed by the fact the reluctant object of her affection was trying disparately to ignore her.  
"Yeah, Sissy, and you would know stupid," Odd quipped, and grinned innocently when Sissy glared at him, flipping her hair over her shoulder.  
"Shut it, idiot," she snapped, then looked back at Ulrich, and moved closer. "Why do you hang out with these freaks, anyway, sweetie? If you wanted to, we could go and see Catacomb Blaster 2, it's supposed to be-"  
"Seen it," Ulrich muttered. "And these freak's are my friends, Sissy."  
Sissy squeaked in annoyance, and stomped her feet. "Fine then! Stay with that freakish dork and ugly geek, Ulrich, I won't help you anymore, so-"  
"Have you ever considered that no one's ever needed your help?"  
A quiet voice interrupted Sissy's rant, and all four teens looked up. Aelita walked toward them slowly, her eyes narrowed slightly. Sissy's eyes widened for a fraction of a second in surprise, then she smirked.  
"Oh, and here comes Mrs. Einstein to save the day, right?"  
Aelita looked slightly taken aback by the comment, but then her eyes flashed slightly. "Just leave them alone."  
Sissy made a face of mock-fear, clapping her hands to her cheeks. "Gonna make me, little Miss Marshmallow Hair? Gonna turn into a big monster and-" The bell rang suddenly, and Sissy cut off, smirking. "Never mind, weirdos. Not gonna waste my perfect day on you." She flipped her hair, sending one last desperately flirty gaze at Ulrich and walked away.  
A collective sigh whispered out of the four left behind.  
"I can't believe her."  
Ulrich just shrugged. "It's Sissy, Princess, you know how she is."  
Aelita didn't seem to hear him, and was instead walking towards Jeremie, who hadn't moved from his spot on the bench. Silent, she sat next to him, and looked over his shoulder at what he was doing.  
Jeremie, trying to ignore the tingle of nerves and warmth that informed him just how close she was, stilled his fingers from typing. "What's wrong?" He asked softly. He had seen the look in her eyes when she had first walked over. Her fists were clench and unclenching slowly.  
"She has no right to say things like that to you," she said after a moment, not looking him in the face. Jeremie blinked, surprised.  
"Aelita, Sissy's being say stuff about all of us for years. It's just annoying white noise now. Why are you so..."  
"It doesn't matter, she shouldn't say that to you." Her voice was shaking. "You don't deserve it, you-"  
"Aelita." Worried now, Jeremie forced off shyness, placing a gentle hand over hers. It was shaking even harder than her voice, and her skin was like ice. His blue eyes widened behind his glasses, and he looked up into her eyes. "Aelita, what's wrong?"  
Aelita didn't seem to breathe for a moment, but then she pulled away from him. "I...I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous."  
"Nervous?" Then it clicked, and hit Jeremie like a punch in the stomach. "The...the program. You..."Seeing the fear in her eyes grow, he reached out to her, setting his computer aside. "Aelita, you know, if you're not ready-"  
Aelita shook her head. "Not after yesterday. We...I can't just let it slide. I can't watch that happen again, have you be cut off like that. I..."  
Jeremie opened his mouth, trying to make his mind stop spinning. Had it only been yesterday when Magenta had made her appearance, almost devirtualized all four of them in one go, almost-  
"Are you guys coming to class or what?"  
Jeremie jumped a foot, and looked up at Odd and Ulrich, who were already towards the class room building. Jeremie hesitated, then looked back at Aelita, who had stopped a few feet from the bench, her back to him.  
Shaking his head, he hurried after her.  
"Aelita?"  
"Jeremie, you should go to class, we can do this later-"  
"No, Aelita." Finally, he had caught with her. Gently taking her arm, Jeremie looked into her face, down cast as it was. "Yesterday, you were okay with the idea of training, in Lyoko. What happened?"  
Aelita shook her head. "N-nothing, Jeremie. I just..." she sighed, shrugging. "I don't know."  
"You want to beat Magenta, yes?"  
Aelita looked up at him, her eyes shadowed from another sleepless night. "Yes," came the whispered answer. "But...I don't want you to be in danger. By yourself. She could be-"  
"Me, in danger?" Jeremie stared at her. "I'm not the one who-"  
"She's after you!" Aelita spun suddenly, facing him. "All she talks about is you. She...I don't know what she wants with me, but she wants you. And I can't put you in danger again, Jeremie, please, I-"  
"If you can gain your power back before XANA wakes up again, you won't be putting anyone in danger, except for Magenta herself," Jeremie reassured her, trying to ignore the chill going down his spine. Yes, Magenta had flirted with him, and tricked him, stalked him, even abet in his nightmares. Always in the guise of the girl in front of him. But why-  
"What if I can't?"  
Aelita wrapped her arms around herself, shivering as they neared the factory. "Jeremie, what if I can't? What if, what ever XANA took away from me to make her, what if I can't get that back, what if-"  
Jeremie turned, and took her hands in his, his eyes more wide and bright than ever. Aelita tried to look away, but couldn't. "Aelita, you were in Lyoko before Magenta ever took a single thought. Your father created it. You have the strongest connection to that world, and it's time for XANA- and you- to remember that." When she tried to shake her head, Jeremie squeezed her hands gently. "Don't doubt yourself, Princess, please. You can do it."  
"You trust me enough to do this?" she whispered, hesitating and not meeting his eyes. "How can I beat someone who's in my head?" She pulled away from him, walking quicker now. "I can barely see my own reflection any more, Jeremie. Instead, it's her eyes staring back at me." A shudder went through her body, and to her embarrassment, her voice hitched. "I can't do this. I can't-"  
HIs heart wrenching painfully at the look of sorrow and fear on her lovely face, Jeremie hesitated, then rested a hand against her cheek. "Aelita, I've seen you create a mountain out of nothing, blast a megatank of a cliff, and fly through a swarm of hornets without a scratch. You can certainly beat this broken mirror image of yourself."  
Slowly, Aelita raised her eyes to his, and sighed. "Okay, let's go."


	6. Chapter 6

"Scanner, Aelita, Transfer. Virtualization."  
Jeremie stared, anxiously waiting to see if she went through all right. With everything else that had happened, what if-  
"Jeremie? I'm here."  
Relief went into a sigh, and Jeremie leaned back in his chair a little. "Good. Now, Aelita, you said something has been missing off and on for weeks, and now it's gone. What exactly are you looking for?"  
In the frigid air for the Polar Region, Aelita turned slowly and shook her head. "Listening."  
"Pardon?"  
She smiled slightly, despite the fact that her heart was still pounding in her chest against the fear of being ambushed. "It's a feeling, really. And a sound. Voices, in my ears, and in my head." She winced, realizing how crazy she sounded. "Well, sort of, but-"  
"What do they say?"  
Aelita blinked. He sounded intrigued, not doubtful. A little heartened by this fact, she continued, trying to remember. Had it really been so long since she heard the earth speak to her as she sang? "It's hard to tell, honestly. They're not male or female, and they are rather emotionless. Mostly," she added, remembering the echo of furious voices in her mind the day she escaped Magenta's trap the first time. A chill went down her spine at the memory, but she pushed it off. Now was not the time to be afraid.  
"So it's a wordless murmur?"  
Again, Aelita shook her head. "They sing when I do. And they..." cocking her head to the side, she frowned slightly, thinking. "Jeremie, do you remember the time my father possessed Sissy in order to contact us?"  
The pause before his reply made Aelita grin a little. That had been a long time ago. "Ye...yes, I do. She spoke in some sort of code, but- wait, are you saying that that's what you're hearing?"  
Aelita nodded. "More or less. It's what it sounds like, although it's even less clear."  
"Hm..." In her mind's eye, Aelita could see him as he thought., lacing his fingers together as he leaned forward a little, his brow furrowed, his glasses slipping down his nose just a little. The mental image made her smile even more and her heart did a little flip.  
"What are you thinking, my genius?" she asked softly, before realizing the endearment that slipped out of her mouth. No able to blush on Lyoko, Aelita winced, hoping he hadn't heard her. Silence stretched, and Aelita crossing her fingers, looked up into the sky. "Jeremie?"  
"Uh...um, yes?"  
He sounded so distracted. Aelita breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't heard what she had called him. "Maybe if we-"  
"Aelita, when was the last time you meditated?"  
Aelita blinked. "What?"  
"You told me once that when you meditated on Lyoko, it reconnected you with everything. What if you tried that now?"  
"Well..." Aelita stared around her again. The place was deserted, just ice, digital sea, and snow. But...Magenta could be watching...or...  
"Aelita, you're safe. You can do it, so don't worry." He paused for a moment, Aelita could swear she heard the smile in his voice. "I'm right here."  
Biting her lip nervously, Aelita nodded. "Alright. I'll try. It's been a bit," she added, smiling wryly. I'm being an idiot, she thought to herself, sighing. It's just meditation, not brain surgery. Closing her eyes, she settled down against the ice, and took a deep breath.  
The silence was oppressive. It pushed slowly into her ears until it felt like she had water in them. Gasping in another breath, she fisted her hands against her lap. What was she doing wrong? Annoyed now, she shut her eyes tighter and tried to push thoughts away.  
But that only brought more silence.  
Letting out a loud huff of air, Aelita shook her head sharply. Concentrate, concentrate, just be quiet, don't think, it's...  
"What the-"  
Her eyes flashed open, and she looked up at Jeremie's exclamation. "JEremie?"  
"Did you do that?"  
"Do...what?"  
"The screens all just flickered and crackled for a second. Like there was flare of energy or something."  
Aelita stared. "That- that's impossible, I can't even concentrate long enough to meditate, how could I do that?" A fear seized her and she leaped to her feet. "What if it's Magenta or XANA?"  
"If it is, then this is a new trick for them. It...it stopped now, but that was strange. I'm sorry, Aelita, go ahead, try again."  
Her heart still pounding, Aelita hesitated, then settled slowly back down to the ground. "If it happens again, Jeremie-"  
"I'll tell you."  
Aelita nodded, and closed her eyes again. She took a breath-  
And the silence around her flooded her mind.  
Her eyes flew open again- and stared into blackness.  
"Jeremie?" The call came out as a whisper, and fear blasted into her head. The last time she had woken into darkness, she...No. Aelita shook her head sharply, and pushed that memory away. Finding she could move, she stood slowly, walking carefully through the pitch-black air. There was a low hum, now, soft and electronic. Frowning, Aelita headed toward it.  
There was a growing red light that got brighter the closer she came. The hum flickered now, like speech. Silent as the darkness around her, Aelita inched closer, until the red light was all she could see. Frowning, she looked closer- and had to bite back a gasp. A tiny, tiny hole in the light opened, like a tear in the wall. Looking through it, the gasp in her lungs turned into a retch of fear and disgust.  
Magenta, strung up against a deep gray wall filled with wires and lights. Her eyes were closed, her form quite still. And yet her voice echoed softly.  
"Yes...I know them. My father knows them. But I can...I cannot see them any longer, Father. The connection isn't there when you rest. I am not able to...yes, yes I am sorry." Although her lips didn't move, it almost sounded as if Magenta was sobbing. Aelita's heart constricted in confusion. What...? "When you awake, I will catch them again." Now those lips moved, a slow, hungry smile curved black against white skin. "The one you want will be yours, the stupid little thing. She's yours already, Father, her powers drained as you said. She can not fight me. And...and the one I want...yes, yes I know, he's the one who thwarted you, but he is...I want him. He is mine. A foolish, innocent sweet little human, easily beaten once his human side dies and the animal is released. As will happen to all of them. Beasts, the lot." Her face relaxed once again, and the hum quieted down.  
Jeremie.  
She had been right, Aelita though, frozen in place by horror. Magenta was after Jeremie. XANA wanted her, but that was no change. But Jeremie...Jeremie was in a danger, she had to get to him somehow, she had to-  
Light, bright and blinding, suddenly lit in front of her, all around her. Aelita gasped-  
and her eyes flew open.  
"Aelita? Aelita, please, answer, where are you?"  
Jeremie's voice, panicked and echoing, sunk into her ears. "Jeremie..." gasping for breath, Aelita looked up into the sky. "Are you all right?"  
"Aelita? Oh, thank goodness, I thought...I mean..."  
"Jeremie, I saw her. I saw Magenta."  
"WHAT?"  
"Bring me in, there's something I have to tell you."  
"What, are you hurt, what happened-"  
"We're all in danger, Jeremie. I heard her talking with XANA. The next time he attacks, she'll be waiting." Her eyes flickered up as fear griped her heart. "For all of us."


	7. Chapter 7

Silence stretched inside her head, but still she couldn't make noise. Drowning in numb quiet, it was so hard to breathe, so hard to-  
"Aelita?"  
Jumping, Aelita looked around widely, and into the faces of Odd, Ulrich and Jeremie, all who were standing over her desk. Blinking up at them, it felt as if she had to pull her mind out of quick sand. "Uh...yes?"  
Odd raised an eyebrow. "Yes? You mean you'll do it?"  
"I don't think she heard you, you dork," Ulrich muttered, shaking his head.  
"Are you okay, Aelita?" Jeremie leaned closer than the others, locking gazes with her. His eyes narrowed slightly before she could look away.  
Great. Just great.  
Instead of responding to the boys, she stood slowly, glancing at the clock, more to give herself something to look at than out of actual curiosity toward the time. She couldn't look him in the face, couldn't bare the look in his eyes. Like he was in pain, trapped, almost guilty. Her heart lurched at the idea. He had done nothing but help and support her, and all she had done was whine and be frightened.  
"I can't be afraid anymore," she hissed to herself a few moments later as she hurried out of the class room. She had tried to ignore the concerned glances Odd and Ulrich at sent her way as they left the room. Her eyes on her feet, she didn't glance up again until she was almost all the way out of the building.  
"Aelita!"  
She glanced back, but instead of seeing someone behind her, all she saw was the massive windows of the double doors she had just gone out of. Her reflection stared back at her, hollowed eyed and pale. Even her irises seemed discolored. Strange. Inhuman.  
Who ever said you were human anyway?  
A chill went down her spine, but Aelita couldn't force herself to look away. Her reflection twisted slowly, smirking at her even as she herself stared in dread.  
You think of your enemies as monsters, yet you are one yourself. You were never human.  
Shut up.  
Stupid, useless, foolish, ugly-  
SHUT UP!  
Aelita broke the staring contest between herself and the narrowed white irises of her tainted reflection in the window, spinning sharply. Her fists clenched, breathing heavily, she stared at the ground, the voice of Magenta still taunted her in her own head.  
"I am NOT afraid, and I am not a monster," she murmured, not caring that she was just talking to herself. Her eyes narrowed, she set off to towards the factory.

"After yesterday, Aelita, are you sure you want to keep trying this?"  
Ten minutes later, Aelita stared into the middle scanner as Jeremie's voice echoed in her ears. Her heart was beating hard against her ribs, and she found herself unable to keep still now. Anything to create sound, to move, get away from the quiet that still hovered in the back of her head.  
"I have to," she replied softly, trying not to notice the goosebumps raising slowly on her skin. "Besides, if it's possible for me to spy on them, perhaps..." she stopped, unsure what to say. IF it's possible...She sighed. Nothing was certain anymore.  
"I've called Yumi and Odd. They're gonna be here soon, just in case..." Jeremie trailed off, but Aelita knew what he didn't want to say: "just in case Magenta's there". The thought sent another chill down her spine, but annoyed at her own fears, Aelita ignored it, and stepped into the scanner. "But, if you're still worried-"  
"Just send me in, Jeremie," Aelita whispered, her voice sounded strained and false to her own ears. "It's not me you need to worry about." She heard him give the virtualization commands, felt the cool rush of air, heard the soft beaconing of strange voices in her head-  
Her eyes shot open mid transformation, but the bright whirling light barely registered over her shock at the sounds in her mind.  
The voices.  
Feeling her feet hit solid ground, Aelita caught her balance and glanced up. "Jeremie-"  
"Don't worry, Aelita, they-"  
"No, Jeremie, I heard it. The voices. During the virtualization."  
Jeremie didn't answer for a moment, but when he did, he sounded excited. "Do you hear them now?"  
For a moment, Aelita stood quite still, listening. A frown knitted over her forehead as confusion slowly eased over the fear. "Not...not exactly." Then her eyes narrowed. "But...it's not silent like it was. There's something, but..." she spun slowly, glancing around her. The bland orange-brown plain of the desert region stretched as far as she could see. Nothing moved.  
"Hmmm...Do you wanna try meditating again?"  
Aelita hesitated, glancing back up at the sky. "JEremie, if I go under again, and XANA attacks, get out of there. I can handle this myself-"  
"Aelita, don't be ridiculous," Jeremie said, not unkindly. "The other's will be here soon, so you'll be safe."  
"It's not me I'm worried about," she replied softly, but gave in. There wasn't enough to time to argue. She had get her powers back. Somehow. Settling herself on the ground, she closed her eyes, trying not to dread the prospect of being lost in that overwhelming silence. She took a deep breath, settling her heart to a slower rhythm-  
And went instantly surrounded by sound.  
Voices whispered, hummed, hissed, screamed, murmured, sang and shouted. Despite the chaos, Aelita felt no fear. Her heart slowing down even more, she felt her eyes open, yet still saw nothing but darkness.  
A flicker of memory crossed amidst the sound. For a moment, Jeremie's voice, fading and sad, mixed with the others, as it had once. Had this how he had felt when lost in limbo between the worlds so many years ago? Had this been...  
Her thoughts paused as another voice raised, louder than the others. Something inside her pulled, and, quite suddenly, all the sound stopped.  
One voice, they had all become one voice. In it, she heard her friends, her father, even herself, and other voices she didn't recognize. Speaking in codes, singing in a chant that, although she couldn't translate, she somehow understood.  
There was fear in the voice now, and anger. The emotions echoed back in her heart, jumping and shimmering like fragments of a shattered mirror. Louder the voice called, until Aelita felt as if her heart was going to be pulled out of her own chest, straining as it was.  
A single, sudden translation rippled through her brain, sending a chill along with it.  
It's here. They're here. She's here.  
No.  
There were bonds now, gripping her arms, shaking her. Aelita fought blindly, unsure if she was now screaming with the voice. It was a warning, she had to get away, she had to find him-  
"Let me go!"  
Her own voice burst from her lungs, and the blackness vanished from her eyes.  
"Aelita!"  
More voices were shouting, she was still being shaken. Gasping, her ears ringing and her head pounding, Aelita jerked sharply, tumbling away from what ever held her. Blinking hard against the light around her, she leapt to her feet, stumbling.  
A geisha, a cat-boy and a samurai. She blinked again, focusing on the stricken expressions on their faces. Why were their voices echoing? Her ears still stung.  
"You were screaming, Aelita," Yumi said, her voice sharp with fright. "Are you-"  
"There was all this lightening, and you were yelling something strange," Odd added before Yumi even finished. Ulrich didn't say anything, but he nodded, his eyes still wide.  
"Never mind that," Aelita gasped, trying to ignore the humming buzz in her ears. "Where's Jeremie?"  
"I'm here, A-aelita, what happened? Your i-icon was flickering, and you s-screamed." His voice was shaking, Aelita realized, but he was there. Relief flooded through her for a moment.  
Yet still that buzzing would go away.  
Unable to push off a growing sense of foreboding, the pink-haired girl forced a smile at her friends. "I"m sorry, I scared you, you guys, it won't happen again."  
"What happened, Princess?" Ulrich asked, but Aelita was already shaking her head.  
"Nothing, it- ah!" Aelita gasped, clasping her hands to her ears. Pain blasted rapidly into her ears along with the buzzing sound that had suddenly become deafening. Somewhere, she heard her friends shout her name, but couldn't react to reassure them.  
"Go!" Her vision flickering, she tried to call out to them. "GO!" Panic battled pain, yet she still couldn't move, could do nothing to protect them. "GO!"  
But none of them moved, even as the air in front of them began to flicker again.  
"Useless again, I see."  
A new voice brought more pain. Behind her, her three fellow fighters shifted into sudden battle stances as Jeremie shouted in surprise.  
No. Jeremie. Aelita's eyes widened.  
"Don't you touch them. Don't you harm him."  
That voice, her voice, the monster's voice, laughed. "As if you'll stop me, little sister."  
Through her failing vision, Aelita saw the shadowless figure of her enemy as it stood over her, totally ignoring the others. "You have no power. Just give up. All of you."  
"Like hell!" bellowed Yumi.  
"Don't touch them," Aelita hissed, trying to fight the pain enough to stand. Please, she begged, hearing the voices clamoring, screaming with her, behind the pain. Stop warning me, help me.  
Magenta laughed again. "Oh, I will, little fool. I will. Just perhaps-"  
"DON'T TOUCH THEM!"  
Aelita, deaf to all but the voices screeching and singing in her head, leaped up, leaped out. Light, sudden, neon and flickering, blasted in all directions, blinding her. Someone screamed, someone cried out to her, to one of her friends.  
Someone was singing. In the back of her head. Behind the pain.  
The light vanished, but still voices cried out. In her head. In her ears.  
"Stop!"  
Someone was laughing.  
"Help, Odd, what-"  
"Aelita, stop!"  
The laughter got louder.  
"STOP!"  
Then everything, even the screaming in her head, vanished.  
Softly, horribly, the laughing voice squirmed into her ears. "Well, little sister. I didn't have to touch them. You did it for me."  
"Aelita-!"  
Everything went silent.


End file.
